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The Oshary Order
The Oshary Order The Oshary Order, or simply The Order, is now both a cornerstone in politics and religion in the Zeorin Empire. Once devoted entirely to religious prayer and safeguarding of the one true religion, The Order has now taken a much more prevalent role in Zeorin society. Although traditionally falling under complete control of the Lord Abbot of the time, The Oshary Order is now under the influence of both the Lord Abbot and the Adjutant Council due to the rising militarism of The Order. History The Oshary Order can trace its origins quite far back; history within The Order (although selective) is generally well preserved. The Order received its name from its legendary founder Leo Oshar; a now famed theologian who stressed the importance of keeping the religion pure and free of heresy, such as any form of magic, famously portrayed through Leo's masterpiece known as the Brabonion Texts. Although shunned as a fanatical mob at first The Oshary Order was quick to organise in major population centres across the Zeorin Empire (the lands were under the control the North Sea Empire and Roldroff at the time) with the founding of several notable monasteries. The movement was quick to receive funding from peasants and nobles alike who saw it within their interest to help stop the spread of magical corruption. It was also rumoured that the Adjutant Council dug into its coffers as well seeing an opportunity to militarise highly fanatical soldiers, however there are no records of any such transactions taking place. Since its founding The Order has become extremely influential and powerful, its contribution to Zeorin expansion has been undeniably essential, providing highly loyal and fanatical soldiers to the Zeorin cause, although their fanaticism is not drawn from the love of their county but rather a belief that in helping the Zeorin they are in fact cleansing the lands of heresy; this of course has given them a 'unique' reputation from both Zeorin citizens and outsiders. From a foreign perspective the general view is that these soldiers are just ruthless brutes; And they wouldn't be wrong, the Oshary order has caused many a political and military scandal within the Zeorin Empire. The Order is almost always a constant source of controversy, it is rare a year goes by without an allegation of siphoning government funds or the mass executions of suspected heretics. It is rumoured that the Oshary order is one of the most wealthiest institutions in the history of Panguilla, a constant stream of wealth from devout Zeorin civilians seems to enter The Oshary Order and simply disappear, and while the upkeep and expansion of monasteries and private military training grounds is expensive, it should only really be a fraction of what the Oshary Order really receive. This of course has given rise to various theories ranging from the Lord Abbot being the richest man in Panguilla to secret Vaults hidden within The Order's monasteries. Leo Oshar Leo Oshar is probably one of, if not the, most famed theologians to ever of lived upon Panguilla, however, even before Leo wrote the Brabonian Texts he was still a famous man. Leo Oshar was born in 552KF to a minor noble house known as House Oshar, Leo Oshar became the Lord of the house at the age of just 24. It was not an easy start however, House Oshar and its lands were at odds with another minor House known as House Friedor; Leo Oshar's father (who died of food poisoning) had managed to embroil House Oshar in a costly feud with House Friedor, and Leo Oshar had ascended to Lordship during a particularly nasty losing streak. Leo Oshar won a significant battle against House Friedor (in which it is said he dueled and killed the heir to House Friedor, Darius Friedor) known now as the Battle of Ozeron, or at least as significant as one can expect a clash to be between two minor Houses (The battle is known to be heavily romanticised; only 180 men took part). Despite Leo's best efforts the success of his House was not to be, throughout the brief war Leo Oshar had proved himself a masterful tactician and a charismatic speaker, but this did not matter when House Oshar was stripped of all of its landed titles by the King, who supported the Friedor, making all remaining Oshars just rich patricians. Locally Leo Oshar was still a hero, however without any land or power Leo Oshar took to pursuing a life of literature. For the next 10 years Leo Oshar wrote many scriptures, mainly for self promotion however he did eventually end up writing his most famed theological work known as the "Brabonion Texts", this collection of writing commented on justice and current affairs, but its main focal point was religion. Leo Oshar commented upon the overuse of magic and how it was a sort of infection which had spread too far, and that something had to be done in order to stop its growth. Since Oshar's death, The Brabonion Texts include an appendix that states how other races of or around Panguilla are actively working against humanity. Some claim this to be a modern add on, however most people and the official Order hierarchy itself claim it was Oshar's work that was added posthumously. Leo Oshar's work quickly gained traction after being published with many people openly agreeing with or supporting the text. Leo only became more famous when 5 years after the publishment of the text he founded the Brabon Order (the name of course did not stick and so everyone knew the small order referred to it as the Oshary Order) this was almost entirely payed for by Leo himself (most of the money however came from the his recent publishing success). The order was established at first as a small rural monastery of only 50 monks who had all taken their oaths in order to preach about the eradication of the "Plague of magic". The Order of only 50 monks was famed across the land and so it grew from its humble beginnings into a movement which stretched across the north. The Oshary Order was unpopular in the south, however, due to its scripture discrepancies with the Angelican Order religion that dominated Kymuria at the time, further distancing the cultural gap between the north and south. The more followers The Order could gain, the more money it could obtain, which led to the founding of more monasteries and the training of more monks; the Orders expansion was a shock to the magic sympathising Kymurian government, who actively supported the Corristian Guild. The first 10 years after its founding would see a rapid growth in support especially within northern urban areas of the Kymurian Empire. Towards the end of this 10 year golden age of Oshary expansion, in 601KF the first and so far only Fraternal Concave was called; a Fraternal Concave is extremely rare (during the 500 years of the Oshary Order's existence only 1 has been called). A Fraternal Concave is the confidential gathering of almost every high ranking Oshary noble and high priest along with a few esteemed guests deemed worthy. The Fraternal Concave can still be called upon should the situation arise, however this would be an exceptional situation. It is likely that this event was recorded and is kept within some sort of a hidden chamber within one of the many monastery's libraries. Three weeks afterwards Leo Oshar became the official Grand Master Of The Oshary Order. The Grand Highway Dispute The Grand Highway Dispute was a set of events leading to large scale domestic dispute between The Oshary Order and the Lord Chief Justice in 1054KF. The Justice department of the Zeorin Empire is famed for being the 'loudest' department of them all, this of course didn't help with the disputes with the Oshary order. In what was seen to be a never ending domestic conflict between bailiffs and the Oshary Order over petty disputes, the Lord Chief Justice demanded a cease to Oshary interference in the law and seizure of the Justice departments property. The Lord Chief Justice was met with three responses, the first came from the Adjutant Council who stated that they would look into it, response two came from the Lord Abbot who boldly stated his neutrality on the issue, and the final response, after three months, came directly from the Oshary Order, who threatened to "declare war" upon the justice department. This was the last heard on the issue. Domestic infighting between The Oshary Order and the Zeorin government was commonplace, however actual deaths stemming from these disputes is extremely rare. To this day however the Justice Department still holds the belief that the Oshary are attempting to undermine the Justice departments constables and the law for their own agenda. The Oshary Order during the Great Panguillan War In the early days of Zeorin, as ex-soldiers and Oshary members flooded in, Serenos Grimm and his councils quickly realised the value of fanatic "do-or-die" soldiers in their ranks, and began to reach out to the Oshary. The call was met quickly, and an official Oshary Regiment was created. The Regiment was designated its own ensign and shoulder emblem, The Oshary Star. The Oshary Battalions were not deployed until the Battle of Oplexis Mountain, in which 800 Oshary's defended an area known as "Hollim Pass" against a combined Kymurian force of 6,000. They did this by having soldiers standing bolt upright on rocks surrounding the pass and man two Zeor Central Armoury Steamguns, which disordered the Kymurian advance, before launching a sudden bayonet charge, the ferocity of which forced back the Kymurian flank, and ultimately brought about a Zeorin victory. Despite celebration for their actions at Oplexis Mountain, the Oshary troops did not relate well with other Zeorin Infantry. A report by the Adjutant Council found: "While they are some of our best troops, the Oshary should be kept in their own camps and mixing with other men should be prohibited as much as possible. They consider themselves enlightened, and tend to look down upon other ranks."